The Great Kat - Beethoven on Speed (1990)

2016-12-23T16:09:15Z

The Great Kat - Beethoven on Speed (1990)


01. Beethoven on Speed [1:56]
02. Ultra-Dead [3:20]
03. Flight of the Bumblebee [2:09]
04. Revenge Mongrel [1:34]
05. Funeral March [3:08]
06. Kat-Abuse [1:55]
07. God! [1:17]
08. Made in Japan [1:49]
09. Sex & Violins [1:29]
10. Beethoven Mosh [2:09]
11. Gripping Obsession [2:22]
12. Paganini's 24th Caprice [1:53]
13. Worshipping Bodies [2:31]
14. Guitar Concerto in Blood Minor [2:42]
15. Total Tyrant [2:01]
16. Back to the Future: For Genuises Only! [0:27]

Kat - Vocals, Guitars, Violin

An unorthodox heavy metal singer/guitarist specializing in thrash versions of classical pieces, the Great Kat was a cult figure of the 1980s and early '90s whose mission seemed to be converting headbangers to classical music. Kat -- who really was classically trained at the prestigous Julliard School of Music -- took herself much too seriously and managed to alienate a good bit of the metal world with her frequent condemnations of bands like Slayer, Testament and Metallica. But while Kat's abrasiveness and exaggerated sense of self-importance didn't help her career, Beethoven on Speed and its predecessor Worship Me or Die proved quite entertaining. Forceful, aggressive and obnoxious as well as amusing, the snarling Kat's speed-metal interpretations of Beethoven's music are nothing if not original. ---Alex Henderson, AllMusic Review

Guitar virtuoso the Great Kat was born Katherine Thomas in Swindon, England. After her family moved to Long Island, Thomas began studying music, taking up piano at age seven and violin two years later. Thomas won a scholarship to Juilliard and studied classical music, but upon graduating with honors, she took up heavy metal guitar in addition to violin and retooled herself as the Great Kat. Billing herself as the "High Priestess of Shred Guitar" and "the Reincarnation of Beethoven," the Great Kat issued her debut album, Worship Me or Die, in 1987. 1990's Beethoven on Speed continued her approach of blending originals with speed metal arrangements of well-known classical pieces. A spate of similar albums followed over the '90s, including Guitar Goddess and Bloody Vivaldi, and her persona and stage show became increasingly S&M-themed. In 2000, the Great Kat issued a six-and-a-half-minute CD titled Rossini's Rape, which featured a run through the William Tell Overture. ---Steve Huey, allmusic.com

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The Great Kat - Worship Me Or Die (1987)

2018-04-07T11:25:58Z

The Great Kat - Worship Me Or Die (1987)


1 	Metal Messiah 	2:10
2 	KAT-possessed 	2:34
3 	Death To You 	2:06
4 	Satan Goes To Church 	2:55
5 	Worship Me Or Die ! 	1:54
6 	Demons 	2:30
7 	Speed Death 	2:28
8 	Kill The Muthers 	2:33
9 	Ashes To Dust 	3:57
10 	Satan Says 	2:48
11 	Metal Massacre 	1:51

Bass – Tom Von Doom
Drums – The Animal
Guitar – The Great Kat
Violin – The Great Kat
Vocals – The Great Kat

“Metal’s fastest guitarist, The Great Kat, the first guitar goddess and creator of ‘Hyperspeed’ metal, has blown the doors off the metal scene with the LP of the century!”

The above quote is the kind of pre-release hype that Roadrunner’s New York office has been saturating the metal press with over the past few months. Kat plays accessible thrash with strong catchy choruses, which is sure to gain The Great Kat and her band a sizable following, but I doubt very much whether ardent thrashers of the underground will take Kat that seriously. All the ‘Satan this, Satan that’ lyrical content is so old-hat that it’s now become a pathetic joke, and in particular the lyrics to ‘Satan Goes To Church’ (“Satan goes to church today, la-la la la la la-la”) and ‘Satan Says’ (Kat’s Satanical interpretation of the kid’s party game ‘Simon Says’) are plain embarrassing.

Musically though the album has a lot of high points and, even if speed doesn’t always make up for the lack of technique, Kat certainly shows plenty of ability on the fretboard and shows her virtuosity with a frenzied violin solo on ‘Demons’.

Best cuts (musically) are probably the anthemic ‘Metal Messiah’ and the out’n’out thrash of the aforementioned ‘Satan Says’. The strong riffing ‘Ashes To Dust’ is also worth a mention (even if the lyrics leave a lot to be desired) and so too is the excellent production.

It’s hardly the “LP of the century” and lyrics are certainly not Kat’s strong point, but if you like thrash with commercial appeal then Worship Me Or Die! is worth investigation, especially if you like tongue-in-cheek thrash like Piledriver. As the press release says, “Hyperspeed metal has arrived!!” But just how genuine it is remains to be seen? ---Bernard Doe, metalforcesmagazine.com

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Rock, Metal

The Great Kat - Beethoven on Speed (1990)

The Great Kat - Worship Me Or Die (1987)